The story begins .. .

After eight years at Sierra Classic Theatre in Mammoth Lakes, California, Lesley Bruns had lost the muse. The stress of running a non-profit organization in her spare time was taking its toll on her health, attitude and inspiration. The once close-knit company was encountering growing pains and the fun was gone. While it was difficult to leave a company she helped create, after extensive soul searching Lesley decided to walk away and take a much needed break.

It took less than a year for Lesley to start missing the stage. What she didn’t miss was balancing accounts, reviewing insurance, filing permits, and handling box office. If only there was a way to just do the “art” part of theater without doing the “business” part. After all, SCT was an all volunteer effort, so it’s not like anyone was making any money for their efforts.

A light bulb went on. As long as you removed money from the equation, you could rehearse a play and perform without administrative hassles and just focus on the creative aspect of the project. To begin, you’d need to start a drama club, where everyone participated because of their love for live theater. Performances would be free, a gift to the local community who have been “fundraised” to death. In order for this to work, the group would have to perform a play that did not require royalties in a venue that did not ask for rent or insurance. Not an easy feat.

The first hurdle was crossed when Jeff Chamberlin, a former SCT member who is now involved with Reno Little Theater, introduced Lesley to playwright Kristen Davis-Coelho. Kristen authored a new play, “Lauren Leaping,” which had been presented as a staged reading at the Bruka Theatre but never had a full production. She offered her “dramedy” free of charge to the fledgling group.

Next, Lesley contacted Ana Danielson-Wells at the Mammoth Lakes Library. The library was eager to have performances in their beautiful new facility and offered up a spacious meeting room for this world premiere. Now, all that was needed was actors. Lesley’s favorite performers agreed to be part of the project. Kim Stoiber (another SCT co-founder) accepted the title role of Lauren, Jeff Chamberlin agreed to drive down from Reno to take on the part of Andrew, Jim Harnagel (an LA actor recently seen in “House of Blue Leaves” at the Mark Taper Forum) signed on as Tom and Lesley cast herself in the role of Eleanor, while also assuming directorial duties.

With everything in place, it became time to spread the word about this exciting new project. Let the rehearsals begin!